Experts for involving citizens in city cleaning

DHAKA, April 25, 2018 (BSS) – Experts today stressed the need for ensuring the participation of all city dwellers to make the city clean and livable.

They suggested continuing the awareness programmes to this end and said the city dwellers should take responsibilities along with the city corporation in waste management and city cleaning.

Eminent city planner and former chairman of University Grants Commission (UGC) Nazrul Islam told BSS that the role of the city corporation is very important to keep the city clean.

The city corporation should take sustainable and long-term plans for this, he added.

He said the councilors of the city corporation should be more pro-people. Many city dwellers don’t know where they have to go to solve their problems and even they don’t know where the offices of ward councilors are, the city planner added.

Professor Nazrul said the city corporation cleans the waste through their cleaners. If they can include the city dwellers in the process, then it can be done easily. Other problems can also be solved through the participation of the people, he added.

Paribesh Bachaow Andolan (PBA) Chairman Abu Naser Khan said people of an area should be included in the cleanliness programme of that area.

The market authorities might have been given the charge of cleaning their market and adjoining areas.

Besides, they might be given the responsibility of maintaining the dustbins of city corporations, he added.

Habibur Rahman, executive director of Subandhon, a social organization of old Dhaka, said many trucks, which carry wastes, have no cover so that dirty water and wastes fall on the roads and spreads bad odor and germs.

He said the ward councilors can communicate with the area-based social organizations as they have a number of young members who can help the councilors to clean their areas, he added.

Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Chief Waste Management Officer Air Commodore Md Jahid Hossain told BSS that his corporation has employed one officer in every ward to monitor the waste management. The wastes are sent to ‘land field’ after collecting those from every ward, he added.

Hossain said the city corporation is also running awareness programmes through the ward councilors.